


Ashara: She who's on a great journey

by FallingT



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Multi, Second Chances, Time Travel, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 00:01:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7485075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingT/pseuds/FallingT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if too much power poured in the mark sends the Inquisitor back in time?<br/>As she finally gets to defeat Corypheus, the Anchor acts up, and suddenly Eliel’s back in Kirkwall, years before the explosion of the Conclave.<br/>Will she manage to wait until Hawke and his marry band of misfits stumble upon the dormant Magister, or will she speed up the process? And more importantly, will she be able to go back to her own reality? To the future?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ashara: She who's on a great journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this was born yesterday night out of a passing thought, plus my love for DA2.   
> This is the third story I have going, so bear with me!   
> At any rate, here some useful info regarding this story:  
> \- I'll try to follow more or less the canonical events of the game, but of course there are going to be unique elements to the story, since our dear Eliel comes from future Thedas!  
> \- There will be none lore-compliant elements to make things work  
> Also:  
> The elven names/words are taken from the amazing work of FenxShiral, go check it out!   
> (Eliel --> Our decision)

“You wanted in to the Fade?! – Eliel Lavellan shouted at Corypheus over the terrible noise of the re-formed Breach – Then here you go!” she raised the marked hand to his face, and the Anchor started to power up as soon as it came in contact with the Orb. Flames of green and yellow sparked from both, engulfing her whole arm and gradually expanding outwards towards the magister.

Eliel screamed as raw power surged throughout her whole body, seeking release within the Anchor, now wide and spread before her eyes in an open portal to the fade itself. It took her all her remaining strength to be able to direct that energy in the right direction, focusing on Corypheus and the sole thought of destroying him. A satisfied grin pulled at her lips when she saw the darkspawn-magister being sucked in the rift that had formed upon her palm, but it was short lived relief since, soon enough, she found herself unable to stop the flow of energy coming from the mark. An agonized cry left Eliel’s lips as she sunk to her knees, marked hand raised over her head.

It burned in a way she had never felt before, not even when she had attempted to close the Breach for the first time.

 _I’m going to die_ , she thought faintly as pain consumed her from the inside out.

She vaguely heard her companions scream and shout behind her, unable to reach her. A barrier had sprung in place all around her, at the same time containing the power of the mark and preventing anyone or anything to come to her rescue. But nothing could have helped her, she knew.

Something had probably gone horrendously wrong as she forced the fade open…too much power perhaps, or maybe the influence of the Orb.

Impossible to say.

The last thing she was consciously aware of was the deafening sound of the Breach snapping close above her head, then everything started to fade to black.

Before darkness was all she could see, she swore she caught sight of Solas, a somewhat bittersweet relief painted on his sharp features…

_At least it’s all over._

 

-

 

Eliel woke up to pitch black darkness, feeling as relaxed as she hadn’t been in years. It took her some time to realize that she should not be aware of neither herself nor her physical condition; she had died. Or was this Uthenera? An endless void in which she still retained her own mind?

She tried to shake her head.

No, Uthenera was an honorable sacrifice one made willingly. She had made no such thing. But maybe, when she forced the veil open…

“You said she just _appeared_ out of thin air?” a voice inquired, almost incredulous.

Eliel felt something prickling the back of her mind; why did she have the impression she should _know_ that voice?

“Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but that’s exactly what happened!” another replied, excitement and fear tightly intertwined in his voice. “A moment I was locking up the clinic, the other an explosion of green light blinds me, and when I open my eyes, there she is!” the same voice continued, still incredibly confused.

“Admittedly, that’s not the weirdest thing that has happened to any of us, Varric” a third, deep rumbling voice joined in with somewhat of a tired chuckle.

At the mention of the name, Eliel’s senses perked up.

_Varric._

She was sure she _knew_ that name!

“You’re right, I don’t know why I’m still surprised” the dwarf sighed.

Eliel frowned. How did she know he was a dwarf?

 _More importantly…_ why _am I hearing this conversation?_

“Has she woken since you found her?” the baritone asked.

She could almost see the healer shake his blond head, shrugging in response.

A shiver run down her spine. Why was her brain adding details she had no memory of ever having?

 _Maybe I’m dreaming,_ she reasoned. After all, she had no knowledge of what was supposed to happen after death.

“I checked her for serious injuries, beside some nasty superficial cuts and bruises that I already healed, she’s perfectly fine” the man explained with the trained voice of a professional, as if he’d had to speak those same words on countless occasions.

“Well, let us know when she does, I’d like to know what happened to her” the other continued as footsteps started to resonate against the dirt floor, the sound jumping on the walls of the empty clinic.

“Same here, g’night Blondie.” Another set of steps joined the first one, and soon the only sound that could be heard was the steady breath of the healer.

“Might as well catch up on some sleep” he muttered to himself.

After some more mumbling and rustling, the room settled in an eerie silence.

Eliel waited for a while for the vision to disappear or switch, but nothing happened. Silence stretched on, broken only by the soft snoring of the man that was sleeping somewhere in that same room.

And now what? What was she supposed to do? Just wait?

With a groan that she could not say she had just imagined in her head or not, she focused herself on her body. It was strange how now she could feel it whole, from the tip of her toes, curled against a rough sheet, to the top of her head, where her face laid on a hard and patchy surface. Experimentally, she moved her toes, wriggling them. Then her feet, her legs, her torso, her arm and hands…when she had determined that every part of her body worked correctly, she tried to open her eyes.

It was difficult at first, her eyelids felt terribly heavy, as if she had slept for years, but slowly she managed to inch them open. Only to be welcomed by a slightly less blinding darkness. She was facing one side, looking at torn wooden panels on the wall, a dim light coming from somewhere just enough to make out what was in front of her. There were boxes, a table and…was that a dead body?!

With a jolt she found herself seated, a yelp of surprise reverberating in the air, though she failed to notice _she_ had been the one to produce the sound.

From her other side she could hear the healer stir and roll around his cot, definitely disturbed by it but not enough to be awaken.

Eliel brought her hands to her mouth to prevent herself to make any more noise, and went back to examine the room. She was greeted by more of the scarce furniture, tables and chairs and cots all scattered around the empty clinic, and all looking terribly old and rough. When she faced forward, she notice a set of two closed doors above which shone an equal number of lit torches.

In some weird way, even that place felt familiar to her, though she was sure she had never seen it before in her life.

Her life.

She had died, hadn’t she? The mark, overpowered, had swallowed her along with Corypheus, she was sure enough. Her body remembered the excruciating pain and burn, the feeling of helplessness and the relief of seeing the Breach close above her.

Yes. She had done her duty, saved Thedas.

She had given her life doing so.

Then why did everything around her seem so real, _feel_ so real?

This was no vivid dream. She’d had those before, she’d walked the Fade countless times alongside Solas, seen people and places, talked to spirits…no, this had to be real.

There was no telling how long she spent looking around half amazed half distressed, wondering if she’d gone crazy in the mean time. With a cautiousness she hadn’t felt needed since her first days in Haven, she turned on the cot and planted her bare feet on the ground. The floor was nothing more than dirt, not exactly the ideal in a clinic, she reflected. But despite the absence of foot wear – something she had truly began to wear only during her stay in Skyhold since Josephine wouldn’t let the Inquisitor stroll around nobles barefoot – the earth was warm, as if the air wouldn’t let it cool off even in the middle of the night. As she took notice of it, suddenly the temperature in the room made itself known; it was hot, almost suffocating despite the darkness.

Where had she ended up? The Frostbacks weren’t this sultry!

A distasteful grimace appeared on her face. In the past year she had adapted fairly well at the rigid climate of Ferelden, almost forgetting everything of the impossibly warm one of the Marches.

Realization hit her as hard as a druffalo caught in the fight by mistake, and Eliel felt her lungs fail her.

The Free Marches. She was in the Free _bloody_ Marches.

Names, places and faces started to crowd the eye of her mind, but they were too jumbled in each other for her to make anything out of it!

Imposing her body to restart, she took several deep breaths.

Was it possible that the mark had misplaced her?

No, she had averted the menace of Time Magic when she had defeated Alexius in Redcliff, such thing should have not been possible without his amulet!

Unless the mark had somehow absorbed part of the magic used…

She groaned again. This was giving her a headache.

She needed more information before she could come to a solid conclusion. Her inquisitive and rationalist mind would not be satisfied with mere suppositions.

Restraining herself from panicking, she slowly raised from the cot, careful not to make any loud noise. The last thing she wanted was to wake the healer before she had all the answers.

 _Thank the Creators Varric and Sera thought me some tricks_ , she mused as she stood, only to freeze in place when her mind replayed the thought for a second time.

There it was again. Varric.

She knew Varric.

She had fought alongside him, laughed with him, grieved with him…

If Varric was here, and these _were_ the Free Marches, then it only meant one thing.

With feather-like steps she moved towards the doors, quietly slipping out of one; the first thing she saw as she peeked out of the clinic, was a scrappy red mural painted hastily on one of the walls.

Eliel stopped for a second to evaluate the symbol: it was composed by a zigzagged line that straightened as it went up, and ended in an inverted ‘v’; somewhere below that v crossed two other lines that then fell on the sides, creating somewhat of a red fall. It was a stylized version of an official one, she thought, one that she had seen multiple times on the cover of one of her favorite books.

Varric’s book.

“The Tale of the Champion… - she murmured quietly to herself, taking a step closer  - I can’t believe it, I’m in-”

“Kirkwall” someone finished the sentence for her.

Eliel spun on her heels with so much force she almost stumbled and fell on her ass.

The healer was standing with his back propped against the door frame, watching her with curious eyes partially covered by his blond baggy hair.

“Oh Creators…”

**Author's Note:**

> Got ideas, prompts, questions, want to hear about upcoming updates, see my related art, or comment privately? Come check me out at http://fallingt-writinblog.tumblr.com


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